Many high schoolers involve themselves in jobs and sports outside of education, which they must drive themselves to. The cost of transportation is increasing along with financial responsibility because many of them put their money towards affording gas.
Students use their own money to combat the rising cost of gas prices, such as applying for a part-time job or getting a freelance job.
“I work with my dad and help him with his business along with babysitting and pet sitting to get money to put towards my gas,” senior Taryn Kovacevich said.
On the downside, if all their money is being put towards gas prices, it is harder to afford hanging out with friends or paying for experiences. Therefore, the rising gas prices are taking away from teenagers’ fun as they try to afford gas.
“I think these gas prices are really affecting teenagers, especially those who have to pay for their own gas, because instead of being able to do fun things with their friends and be able to use money to pay for these fun things, they have to instead sacrifice those activities and pay for gas,” junior Aleah Wolter said.
The cost of driving back and forth from school, work and sports adds up overtime. Especially with sports and school that takes place five-six days of the week and an average of five miles away from homes.
“My drive to school is five minutes and my drive to my sport is about fifteen minutes every weekday,” junior Katie Shepard said.
When all the repeated trips add up, there is a ton of gas being used on the weekly. As a result, students are constantly spending huge amounts of money to fill up their tanks multiple times a month.
“I fill my tank up once or twice every two weeks so it is definitely expensive,” Shepard said.
On the other hand, students who do not pay for their own gas are supported by their parents. This becomes a dilemma because every time students need to leave the house, it is costing additional money.
“I often feel really bad about using my car because I don’t want my parents to have to pay so much money,” Wolter said.
The gas prices are affecting different students differently depending on what car they drive. So, gas prices that are already rising have become even more expensive when cars require premium gas.
“The rising gas prices have affected me because my car requires premium gas so everytime I fill my tank it costs anywhere from ninety to one hundred dollars,” Kovacevich said.
The changes are noticeable for how expensive gas prices have become and it is hard to combat the issue. The gas prices are still continuing to rise and there is no known solution at the moment.
“Last year, I paid around seventy five dollars for gas, so my wallet is lighter than ever with the rising gas prices,” Kovacevich said.
